Sundome
by Felicity Dream
Summary: Laurence Dominic was a straight-laced Biology teacher at Beldam Private School. Then he meets Caroline, who turns his life upside down when he finds himself completely drawn to her, ending up in a quid pro quo relationship that might just break his sanity. Indefinite hiatus.
1. Teacher's Pet

Disclaimer: I don't own Dollhouse, Echo, Laurence, or any of the characters. They are the property of Fox, Joss Whedon, Eliza Dushku, etc.  
Story: Laurence Dominic was a straight-laced Biology teacher at Beldam Private School. Then he meets Caroline Farrell, nicknamed Echo, who turns his life upside down when he finds himself completely drawn to her, ending up in a quid pro quo relationship that might just break his sanity.  
Set as a total HS AU. Take that.  
Spoilers: No spoilers.  
Warnings: Violence, language, sexual situations, etc.  
Pairings: Laurence/Caroline(Echo), slight Paul/Caroline(Echo), Boyd/Claire, Topher/Sierra, Victor/Adelle, past Victor/Sierra.  
A/n: Based off heavily on the manga Sundome by Kazuto Okada, also heavily borrowing some dialogue. I'm actually surprised at the lack of High School AU's in the DH fandom, considering those kind of stories run rampant everywhere else. Working on the next chapter of Happiness in Misery, and look forward to a Laurence/Echo one-shot during Epitaph One.

_**Sundome: Literally translates into "stopping the moment before."**_

**Sundome  
**_Chapter One: Teacher's Pet_

Laurence glared at his roster, hoping that time would fast forward and break would come already. Along with a Homeroom, he had several Biology classes to take care, including one Honor class. He didn't doubt it would be filled with a bunch of upstarts…

"You looked pissed off already," Claire Saunders commented, leaning against his doorway.

He scoffed, "I hate work. Of course I look pissed off."

She laughed, "Just make sure to play nice, or else you'll scare the kiddies off before they even start your class."

"Why can't DeWitt just cut my classes in half? At the very least, I don't want a homeroom. Langton doesn't have to have homeroom."

"_Boyd_ has several subjects to teach. You only have one and therefore can put your mind in automatic."

"His fault he chose physics, calculus, and gym," Laurence muttered.

"You'll join us in the staff room for lunch later?"

"No."

She rolled her eyes and waved, leaving in exasperation. And with great discomfort, he sat there waiting for the new school year to begin and who his new students will be. At least his Homeroom was only seniors.

The students came in soon, piling into class and ending up sitting wherever they wanted, close to their friends. Their loud chatter brought his headache to a new level, and his mouth twitched into a scowl. He looked up and scanned the room, getting ready to yell, when his eyes were drawn to a quiet girl in the back.

She had a tiny face with large, expressive brown eyes. Her dark brown locks fell softly about her and she had a look of naivety and innocence. Her small pink mouth was pursed, and a darker pink tongue darted out to wet them.

His mouth dropped slightly and he stared.

Then he clenched his jaw and shook his head in amazement and horror. In his three years of work there, he had never reacted like that with any student. It didn't matter how big their breasts were, if they practically stuck them in his face with hopes of a better grade, or how pouty their lips were, or even how pretty their faces or body was. Laurence had never even _looked_ at a student the way he was staring at this girl.

Dear God, he was having a _hard-on_ in the middle of class.

Clearing his throat uncomfortably, he crossed his legs and tried to will his cock to go back down before he embarrassed himself in front of his class.

Guys had fetishes, their "turn-ons." Some like to ogle breasts, others are turned on by hips. They were stranger turn-ons like legs, the shape of someone's mouth, their ears, someone's calves…Those of which were actually his turn-ons, and ones he knew others wouldn't get. And because of those turn-ons, in all of his years in living, he had never fallen in love at first sight.

'_Somehow…__**all of her**__ was my turn-on.'_

Gulping, he finally spoke out.

"Class 1-A, I'm your homeroom teacher, Laurence Dominic. For the duration of our time together, you will refer to me as Mr. Dominic and nothing else. For some of you, I will also be your Biology teacher. Once I call roll, the seat you are in is final. Move now if you don't want to stay in that seat for the rest of the year."

There was some mild moving, but mainly everyone stayed in their seats, including the girl in the back.

Starting roll, he anxiously waited until it was her turn.

She stood up to introduce herself and he saw the school uniform's pleated skirt was entirely too short for her, but not noticeable enough to be against the school rules. Her white blouse was slightly loose and the red neckerchief tied around her collar wasn't tied tightly like it should be. Usually, he would call out on the student on that, but he couldn't right now. Especially with this one.

Damn Adelle for making the girls wear sailor outfit-styled uniforms. This wasn't fucking Japan.

"Hello. My name's Caroline Farrell, but everyone calls me Echo. I'm pleased to meet you all."

Shit, the sound of her voice just made him worse off.

Thanking God when Homeroom was over, he retreated to his office, glad he had a free period straight after. A knock on his office door made him nearly curse out loud and he moved slightly behind his desk to hide his hard-on. He almost groaned when it was Caroline who entered, but he just nodded stiffly at her.

"What can I do for you, Miss Farrell?" he said gruffly, discreetly adjusting himself a bit more.

"Just Echo, Mr. Dominic. I just transferred into this school from overseas and I need to get all of my teachers' sigs. If you don't mind…?"

He refused to swallow the lump that appeared in his throat.

"S-sure."

She came closer, handing him a slip of paper before turning her back to him. "You can use my back to sign on!"

His hands trembled and his head was screaming at him. _'You have your desk right next to you!'_

She was so close he could smell the light, sweet perfume she used. Licking his lips nervously, he placed the slip on her back and began to sign, uncomfortably aware that if she moved the slightest bit, the back of her leg would brush up against his hard-on.

'_Don't move. Please don't move.'_

His answers weren't answered and her leg moved back slightly, touching it. He winced, but she didn't say anything.

'_Thank God, she didn't notice…'_

Finishing quickly, he handed her the slip and slid more behind his desk. She smiled brightly at him before leaving and he sank gratefully into his chair.

It was going to be a long year.

* * *

He was in the male staff room, sitting at his assigned desk and listening to the others chatter. His ears caught onto the main topic of a conversation not too far away, with some cocky male teacher heading the discussion. Travis something, if he could recall.

"She's so hot. I would totally bang her right in school," the idiot said.

Murmurs of agreement went through that group and Laurence frowned, rolling his eyes as he turned to his teacher's aid in irritation.

"Who are they talking about, Topher?"

Topher grinned nervously, "The new student, Dom. Echo."

"Miss Farrell?" Laurence's frown deepened.

"The one and only."

"It's inappropriate to be talking about a student in that way. They should be shutting their traps before they get reported."

"Come on, Dom. It's okay to look, just as long as we don't touch. Code of male teachers," Topher chuckled.

"That is not –"

"Speak of the Devil. Here she comes," and the student of the hour walked in, smiling at all of them. And was it his imagination, or did her smile grow bigger when her eyes caught sight of him?

"Hi! Miss Saunders asked me to come here to ask for your registration and medical records for yourself and the students?"

"Oh, I have mine in my classroom! I'll be right back!" Travis was the first one to say, eager to do something for her.

There was a chorus of similar things and soon the room emptied out. Topher was suspiciously absent as well, leaving Laurence all alone with Caroline.

"Miss Farrell –"

"Just Echo," she turned her smile to him, continuing to examine the staff room curiously, ending up near Travis' desk.

"Uh…Echo. I've already given mine to Miss Saunders, so you don't have to worry about me," he said uselessly. He winced slightly. Was that all he could say?

She picked up a book from Travis' desk and started to flip through it, starting to laugh as she read.

"Is this really how men masturbate?"

He jolted up and stared at her, seeing her still reading. Travis didn't…He would. The idiot would have a book on masturbation clearly out in the open.

She walked over to him, sitting herself on his desk and hiking a leg up, putting her chin on top of her knee as she loosely crossed her arms around her ankle. He had a clear view of baby blue panties. Fuck.

"So, is that really how you masturbate?" she asked curiously, holding up the book to show a rather graphic image.

His face colored, giving an uncertain smile that was unlike him. Laurence Dominic didn't smile.

"That's…a rather private question."

Her eyes turned oddly cold, and he could feel them forsaking him.

"You…like to play it safe, don't you, Mr. Dominic?" she asked coolly.

Laurence's smile faltered and he stared at her. He had the feeling that she'd just called him…_boring_.

She slipped off his desk and continued looking around, rummaging through the other male teachers' things.

He tried to say something several times, before grimacing and clearing his throat to try again.

"Oh…you're still here?" She didn't even look at him.

Ouch. That hurt.

"Ah…um…"

"Hey."

He jerked his head up to face her, his face looking just as eager as those stupid idiot colleagues of his that had left them.

"Show me how you jerk off."

She was leaning casually against the bookshelf wall, staring at him with those cold eyes.

"It's written in here, but I was wondering if you can do it," her voice had that curiosity again.

"Y-you see, it's something done…in private…"

"Oh, is that so? Goodbye."

"I'll do it," he blurted out.

She straightened and watched him, eyes more alight with curiosity than condemning like it was before. He gulped and unbuttoned his pants, unzipping and then reaching into his boxers to pull out his cock. Nervously aware she was watching, he began to stroke it.

"It's just that, in this situation…it might, you know, get hard," he said embarrassedly.

"It's okay. I've already seen you hard in the classroom."

At her words, his cock immediately jumped to attention and he blushed heavily.

'_She…she knew?'_

He looked up and his eyes widened, seeing her smile softly at him. His cock swelled up even more.

"J-just now…when I saw you smile…it suddenly…"

She stopped smiling, looking at him.

"Stop."

He blinked in surprise, but automatically stopped stroking himself. She crawled on top of his desk towards him, reaching and grabbing his wrist attached to his hand that was still holding his cock.

"I won't have_ sex_ with you. Even if I do it with someone else…or as a casual fling…even if we were that last two people on Earth…I'd still never have _sex_ with you. No matter how much you cried or begged for me…I'd never let you come. Are you…okay with that?"

He stared at her, mouth moving on its own to form a silly smile.

"Yeah."

'_As long as you stay by my side…it's better than being rejected.'_

"I see."

She grinned suddenly, throwing herself forward and hugging hers arms around his neck.

"Let's make lots of fun memories!"

* * *

"Oh, I heard you guys have your own pool!" Caro –Echo exclaimed.

Laurence shrugged, "Yeah…the teachers have two pools. One for the females and the other for males. They're closed at night though."

"Oh," she said more despondently.

"I-I could take you tonight," he blushed.

Ever since he'd met her, he didn't act like himself. Blushing, smiling, eager…those were things that he didn't do. And yet…with her…he felt right at home.

"Really?" she asked in surprised, more happy than just a second ago.

"Y-yeah. Sure."

And that was how, on the very first night of his first meeting with her, he ended up sneaking her into the men's inside pool, hoping that Topher pulled through for him and looped the video feed in there.

"So, um, this is the men's pool," he mumbled idiotically.

She looked around and began taking off her clothes, dressing down to baby blue underwear. Diving into the pool, she giggled and swam around.

"Don't just stand there! Come on in," she smiled widely at him.

"I-I'm not wearing anything I can swim in," he muttered, feeling like knocking himself on the head for wearing one of his typical suits when he knew they would be going to the pool.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "So? I'm swimming in my underwear. Just swim in your clothes."

When he hesitated, she turned her back to him and began swimming the other way. Biting his lip, he jumped into the cold pool, suit and all.

He swam towards her, floating gently beside her as she stopped and grinned at him.

"See? It wasn't that bad."

He hesitantly smiled back at her.

"Now for your reward," she murmured, grabbing his hand and leading it underwater. He gulped as he felt her hand lead his to her hips, sliding it under her panty's side and helping him pull it down.

Pecking his lips lightly, she smiled.

"You can keep those…and watch me swim around with just a bra."

She floated away from and then began to swim.

He gaped, his hand clutching onto the baby blue panty he'd glimpsed only just earlier.

Started 8/6/09 –Completed 8/7/09


	2. Collar Rules

Disclaimer: I don't own Dollhouse, Echo, Laurence, or any of the characters. They are the property of Fox, Joss Whedon, Eliza Dushku, etc.  
Story: Laurence Dominic was a straight-laced Biology teacher at Beldam Private School. Then he meets Caroline Farrell, nicknamed Echo, who turns his life upside down when he finds himself completely drawn to her, ending up in a quid pro quo relationship that might just break his sanity.  
Set as a total HS AU. Take that.  
Spoilers: No spoilers.  
Warnings: Violence, language, sexual situations, etc.  
Pairings: Laurence/Caroline(Echo), slight Paul/Caroline(Echo), Boyd/Claire, Topher/Sierra, Victor/Adelle, past Victor/Sierra.  
A/n: This is actually kind of fun to write. I want to keep pushing and pushing, and see how far I can go. (cackling) I wonder how messed up I can make this or how wide-eyed I can make you guys…

_**Sundome: Literally translates into "stopping the moment before."**_

**Sundome  
**_Chapter Two: Collar Rules_

She was standing under the spray of hot water from the showerhead, glistening against her skin. His eyes trailed over each drop of moisture, drinking up the sight hungrily. Already, he could feel himself hardening and when she beckoned him closer, he did not hesitate a moment.

"For your reward," she purred, and her slender fingers slowly began unbuttoning his dress shirt that had already clung to him because of the water above them.

She moved his dress shirt away from his chest, leaning forward and planting lingering kisses on his bare skin. Her tongue darted out and he shivered from the feel of it on his chest, even more when it touched upon one of his nipples.

When he leaned forward urgently to kiss her, he slammed against the wall and he blinked slowly, realizing resignedly that he'd been daydreaming in his shower. Looking down, he also realized that his manhood had hardened just as much as it had during his daydream, and he took care of himself before he finished his shower.

Strangely, despite his new frustration, he was looking forward to this school year. Heck, and only a week's passed already.

Eagerly heading to Homeroom, he was surprised but happy to see Echo already there and that they were all alone.

"Hey, Mr. Dominic! You're early!" she grinned at him.

"I, uh, was looking forward to seeing you again," he awkwardly grinned back.

"Aw, aren't you sweet? Hey, I have something for you," she rummaged through her book bag before finally taking out a sleek black collar, his name engraved in an elegant dark blue scrawl, boldly emblazoned on the front.

His face turned red and he looked uncertainly at her, "For…me?"

She nodded enthusiastically, "I figure, I'd have your name on the front –by the way, blue's your color, right? –and then on the inside I could say you were my property. At least, it won't be so obvious and if anyone sees the collar, they would think it was some kind of new accessory. You have a lot of high collar shirts, right? You could wear it underneath also."

"Well, um, my collar's short right now," he hesitated.

He saw her start to turn cool again, so he quickly leaned forward and bared his neck.

"It's just a new accessory," he reassured her. "One I got…from a friend. I' m wearing it so I don't offend her. My sister," he corrected seeing an odd look pass her face for an instant. He really wanted to avoid saying 'he' or else he knew there would be rumors of him being gay before the day was even over. And with his usual reaction to Echo, he very much doubted that.

She didn't move for awhile, his neck starting to ache from the position, but then she took the collar and fit it snugly around him, adjusting it so his name was at the front.

"It fits perfectly. Did you measure me somehow?" he joked.

"Yup."

He almost gaped at her and decided that he didn't want to know right then.

"Um, should you go to your seat now? Class will be beginning soon and others students will be coming in…"

She observed him through dark eyes, before smirking and nodding.

"I'll give you your reward after class."

"My…reward?" Laurence asked breathily.

"You're wearing the collar for me, that deserves a reward. I'm wearing side-tied panties. You can pull on the string as your reward. Isn't that enough for you?"

"Y-yes!" Laurence said a little too loudly.

His hands were itching for his reward already, twitching once towards her before he snatched them back and shoved his hands into his pockets.

When class was over and she was in his office, she lifted up one side of her skirt, revealing the panty's ties on that side.

"Go on ahead," she said amusedly, watching him stare at it mesmerized.

"Okay then. I'll just go ahead," he mumbled, already reaching for the tie.

In a quick movement, he'd pulled the string and part of her panty was falling off, only barely staying on because of the other side. But he could see a clear glimpse of her private place from under the dark shade given from her lifted skirt.

"You're hard again," she noted.

"Y-yeah," it was all he could say, his eyes drawn to the area and completely speechless.

"Is this enough?"

"Yes," he smiled softly at her, a smile actually without the usual hint of awkwardness or any other clue to show he wasn't used to smiling.

"Alright," and she began retying the strings. "I'll see you later, Mr. Dominic."

The door closed behind her and his hands immediately went to his pants' button and zipper.

* * *

"Hey, uh, L-man," Topher greeted him, strangely without the usual annoying enthusiasm he had. "Nice collar. Everyone's been talking about it at one point."

Laurence ignored him, continuing to eat in his office and wishing Echo would be there.

"Laurence, when you asked me to loop the video in the men's pool, I accidently saw you," his teacher's aide said in a rush.

He froze up and slowly turned to face Topher, who was looking back guiltily.

"It wasn't caught on video or anything, but I saw the actual feed."

He stayed silent, staring with a caught wide-eyed stare.

Topher licked his lips nervously, "Echo, huh? Wow, you lucky man."

Jealousy immediately flashed through him and he frowned angrily at Topher. "What do you mean by that?"

"Woah, relax! She's…attractive. _Way attractive_…but not my type," he admitted quietly.

Laurence gestured for him to continue, and Topher winced before complying.

"I like Sierra. I'm _with_ Sierra."

Laurence drew a blank so Topher clarified.

"She's one of your students. Priya Tsetsang. She, Echo, Victor, and some others are all friends in a group. They get their nicknames from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet."

Sighing, Laurence took off his collar and tossed it to Topher, who examined it and eventually found the silver engraved words "Property of Caroline Farrell." His eyebrows shot up for more than one reason.

"Well, well. Didn't expect something like this from her. And she used her real name…she must be really taken with you."

"I wish," Laurence muttered unthinkingly, glaring off to the side.

"Trust me, Laurence. I've heard from Sierra that Echo isn't one to get so attached. She's collaring you. That means she wants to own you and keep you all to herself," Topher stared at him in awe.

"For now. What if she decides to not bother with me the next day or the next day?" Laurence glowered and leaned back wearily in his chair.

"You really like her, don't you? It's strange. I've never seen you worked up over someone like this," he commented in surprise.

"I've never liked someone the way I do her. I just…it was like an instant reaction."

Topher leaned back as well, folding his arms behind his head and sporting a wry grin. "Here's to us lucky and yet unfortunate teachers in relationships with hot students."

"We're so screwed," Laurence muttered, reaching into his drawer and drawing out a bottle of whiskey and two shot glasses. "To take the edge off, because I don't think I can last the entire day without thinking about her and getting a hard-on."

"Here, here," Topher agreed, taking his empty glass and holding it up to wait for it to be filled.

"And give me my collar back," Laurence growled. "I want it. She gave it to me."

Topher blinked before snickering. "Man, she totally owns you."

"Happy to be owned," and Laurence drank his shot in one go.

The day passed by slowly, with only the occurrence of him staring discreetly at Echo during Biology Honors, and then he was in his office. He didn't know if she would come to him or if he would see her at all, but he didn't have anything to lose.

Fortunately, she did come to him after all.

"Hey, you look lonesome," she smiled.

He shrugged, "I am. Better now that you're here."

She rolled her eyes and sat herself comfortably on his desk.

"Topher…knows about us," he said suddenly.

"Your teacher's aide," Echo murmured.

"Yes…"

Echo brushed it off, "He's with Sierra. I doubt he'd say anything."

Laurence blinked at the information that she knew about those two, but figured that Sierra probably would have said something to her.

"He seemed relieved, so I don't think he'll say anything either."

"Besides, neither of you will get in trouble anyway. If you were found out," Echo said mysteriously.

He looked at her curiously, but she just lay back on his desk.

"The school trip will be soon. It'll last for two weeks," she said from out of nowhere.

"Oh. I hate those things. I never volunteer for school activities," Laurence automatically confessed.

He saw her slightly tense before relaxing again, this time with that cold gaze.

"I see. Too bad."

"But I'll go this time if you want me to," he said in a rush.

She didn't answer him, gazing at his ceiling with a hard gaze.

'_I don't want to be __**boring**__. Don't be bored with me already.'_

He saw Topher's leash for his dog neatly piled on the floor next to the desk and he took it, clipping it to his collar. Holding the other end of the leash, he shuffled closer to her, holding himself prostrate next to her laid out figure on the desk. Obediently holding up the leash to her, he bowed his head.

"I'm sorry. I really do want to go, especially if you're going."

He clenched his jaw several times, waiting nervously for any reaction. When a minute had gone by and still nothing, he started to feel depressed. But then soft fingers lightly touched his hand, sliding past it to take the leash from him, yanking twice gently. He looked up to see that she'd turned on her side to face him, one arm curled to pillow her head as the other held his leash and was petting his hair affectionately.

"This isn't yours…"

Laurence shrugged embarrassedly. She gave him a tender smile and laughed low.

"If you really want a leash, I'll get you one that matches your collar at least."

* * *

She'd continued petting his hair for awhile, neither moving from their position. He stayed sitting on his haunches next to her, ignoring the ache in his legs for the position and the ache in his neck for his bowed head. But she was petting him, touching him…so he was happy and ready to suffer for that.

And the next day, he eagerly signed up to be a supervisor for the trip. He ignored the whispers and amazed looks, because it was all worth it. _She_ was worth it.

"You look like the cat ate the canary," Topher commented with a grin.

"Mmhm," Laurence answered in a daze.

"And I hear you signed up to supervise the trip to Paris, France."

"Oh…is that where we're going?" Laurence continued to sound and look dazed.

"…Can I guess that all of this has something to do with Echo?"

"She's going to go…I want to be with her," the blond muttered, twitching in irritation at his aide as he became more aware of his surroundings.

"Man, have I said how collared she has you?"

"Stupid pun, Topher. Really stupid. Are you going? I hear Miss Tsetsang will be coming along," Laurence asked curiously.

Topher smiled anxiously, "Yeah. I wanted to spend some time with her, and since students practically have free reign and the teachers don't exactly have to shadow them all or keep to a group…"

Laurence's eyes glazed over, "Echo…me…all alone…"

The brunet snickered, "I can see your mind's gone to the gutter."

Laurence snapped out of it, glaring at the younger male.

"That's not just it. I want to spend time with her. Just her…and no interruptions…maybe a real date…"

Topher shook his head, "Good luck then. Oh and DeWitt's coming. Just so you know."

Laurence cursed aloud.

"Hey, uh, Laurence…have you seen my leash for my dog?"

"…"

Started 8/9/09 –Completed 8/10/09


End file.
